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Humanist Society Scotland
Humanist Society Scotland (HSS) is the national humanist charity for Scotland. Founded in 1989 out of local groups whose roots go back to 1904, it secured legal recognition for humanist marriages in 2005 and today conducts more legal weddings than any religious group in Scotland.
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From the archives: Humanism in Scotland (1983)
In 1983 Nigel Bruce, chairman of the Scottish Humanist Council, explained to readers of the BHA’s Humanist News why Scotland needed a humanist body of its own. His article, reproduced here, is the clearest statement of the case made six years before the Humanist Society of Scotland was founded.
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Darcus Howe (1943–2017)
That was the moment when I entered the world of reason. Before that, it was all God, but as I […]
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J. D. Bernal (1901–1971)
Science should be taught not merely as a subject but should come into all subjects. Its importance in history and […]
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Pamela O’Malley (1929–2006)
At that time, she appeared to me the way Gonne appears in Yeats’s poem, ‘No Second Troy’, where he describes […]
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Maureen Duffy (1933–2026)
As war is far too important to be left to the generals, so morality is far too important to be […]
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Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011)
I settled my religious muddles by deciding that I had better be an atheist. Diana Wynne Jones in Something About […]
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John Rawls (1921–2002)
It may be expedient but it is not just that some should have less in order that others may prosper. […]
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Iain Banks (1954–2013)
What Iain brought to his writing was himself. He brought a wonderful combination of the dark and the light side of life, […]
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Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
Aldous Huxley was never just a cynic or a mystic, or for that matter just a writer. He was a […]
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Secularism
The adoption of the term Secularism is justified by its including a large number of persons who are not Atheists, […]
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Eustace Chesser (1902–1973)
All through his life he fought fearlessly for the causes in which he deeply believed and he fulfilled himself in […]
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Alec Reed (1934–2025)
Over the years my faith in any one God has diminished, but my desire to help others has not. I […]
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Mora Burnet (1907–1985)
Mora Burnet was a founder of, and driving force within, the Humanist Housing Association, formed in 1955 to provide affordable homes […]
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Meghnad Desai (1940–2025)
It is a very strange idea that moral and various spiritual educations can be learned only by getting people together […]
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Joseph Reeves (1888–1969)
Humanism is on the march. In a world of conflict and frightening menaces we are an integral part of the […]
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Raymond Firth (1901–2002)
Though only some anthropologists are humanists, my own anthropological studies confirmed my review of religion as a human art, not […]
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Periyar (1879–1973)
A life devoted to uncompromising rationalism, rich in achievement. Obituary for E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) in New Humanist, April 1974 […]
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Abraham Kovoor (1898–1978)
As the Indian freethought papers have said, by his personal example he left a thousand Kovoors, and this is his […]
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Renée Short (1916-2003)
Whatever our background, from whatever country we come, we are all united in the constant struggle for freedom and progress […]
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Leonard Ainsbury (1943–2006)
There will never be a point where we can sit back and say we have discovered everything. Our banner will […]
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Enid Lakeman (1903–1995)
Should STV ever be introduced in Westminster elections—as it has been in the Republic of Ireland, for Northern Ireland Assembly […]
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Govind Deodhekar (1919-1997)
He was dedicated to the cause of secularism, but in his own gentle way he did not neglect to enjoy […]
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Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872-1958
I am myself a musician, and I believe that all the arts, and especially music, are necessary to a full […]
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From the archives: Joseph Rotblat on Bertrand Russell
The human species so deeply loved by Bertrand Russell and so much enriched by his life’s work is now in […]
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Douglas Houghton (1898–1996)
Elected to Parliament in 1949… and here I am! Where else could I be? The pages of the New Humanist […]
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Philip Sargant Florence (1890–1982)
Though hearing and discussing many philosophies and keeping open minds, many, if not most of us had a slightly utilitarian […]
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Ronald Fletcher (1921–1992)
Humanism is… a tradition of thought and feeling combined with social action which stems from classical times and which has […]
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Iris Murdoch (1919–1999)
I don’t believe in God, but I think morality is fundamental to human life. Iris Murdoch in the Literary Review, […]
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Rationalism
Rationalism is not a dogma but a method. It does not tell us what to believe but how to find […]
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John Gilmour (1906–1986)
In the first place, then, why do we botanise?… The enjoyment of the beauty and fascination of flowers in their natural […]
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Mary Raftery (1957–2012)
The hard anger she felt at the cruelty she encountered was always rooted in a deep tenderness for vulnerable humanity. […]
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David Oppenheimer (1914–1991)
In my experience he was the kindest of men, far too modest about his own contributions and always prepared to […]
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Angus Wilson (1913–1991)
I don’t think it’s the novelist’s job to give answers. He’s only concerned with exposing the human situation… and I […]
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Edward Blishen (1920–1996)
At this nervous moment… when we have uncertainties about almost everything, it’s particularly necessary that we pool our determination, so […]
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Justin Keating (1930–2009)
One might say that since retirement I have been reworking my paradigm. In that reworking I have reached conclusions, but […]
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May Keating (1895–1965)
[I] feel extraordinarily proud and extraordinarily lucky to be the child of a woman who from her early twenties was […]
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Mary Holland (1935–2004)
Mary Holland was a doyenne of Irish journalism. She epitomised the highest journalistic standards – she inquired, she informed, she […]
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Balliol College, Oxford
Founded in 1263, Balliol College is one of the oldest colleges at the University of Oxford. Established by the English […]
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Diana Rookledge (1932–2022)
Humanism is a philosophy – one which gives us a coherent stance for living. We believe the humanist approach to […]
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Edward Max Nicholson (1904-2003)
Conservation… draws us towards not only a scientific but a philosophical and historical approach to the problems of the earth […]
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Madeleine Simms (1930–2011)
Humanists have principles too, but they are principles which do not refer to the existence of the supernatural. This is […]
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Theodore Besterman (1904–1976)
Theodore Besterman… was one of the most remarkable of the long line of remarkable people who have given their support […]
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Bet Cherrington (1912–1998)
The Humanist virtues, as indicated in Barbara Smoker’s What’s this Humanism (1973), are intellectual integrity, tolerance, breadth of sympathy and […]
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Amber Blanco White (1887–1981)
Many human beings are sensible and friendly and kind; able to combine together to carry out wise policies. It is […]
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Tony Brierley (1936-2024)
Tony Brierley was an active part of the humanist movement for more than 60 years, and a founder of both […]
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The Athenæum
The Athenæum is a London club founded in 1824, around the pursuit of science and literature. Its reputation as ‘the […]
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To Love and to Cherish (1988)
There are in Britain today a great many thoughtful people who have ideals and aspirations that owe nothing to religious […]
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Beatrice McCabe (1880–1960)
The courage and steadfastness which lead thoughtful people to declare themselves openly Rationalists in face of conventional social pressure is […]
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Joseph McCabe (1867–1955)
Rationalism is… primarily a mental attitude, not a creed or a definite body of negative conclusions. No uniformity of opinions […]
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Nicholas Winton (1909–2015)
What is needed is something in which [we] can all believe irrespective of religion, which in most cases, dare I […]
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Sharley McLean (1923–2013)
Born Lotte Reyersbach in Oldenburg, Germany in 1923, Sharley McLean arrived in England on the Kindertransport as a teenager. Both […]
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Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999)
Good will, that curious product of consciousness, of leisure and energy to spare and share. That thing we put out […]
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Ted Willis (1914-1992)
I have a strong faith and I love mankind. I do not believe in God but I believe in good. […]
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Frederick C. C. Watts (1896-1953)
The educative work and the profound enlightenment resulting from the publication of the cheap RPA reprints and the Thinker’s Library […]
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Terry Sanderson (1946–2022)
If the religious arguments seem irrelevant or cruel, there is another approach which relies on the power of human good, […]
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Constance Dowman (1915–1982)
In all her work for the humanist movement, Constance Dowman said little and did much… She was one of the […]
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Jim Herrick (1944–2023)
Humanism is a way to live, to give meaning to life and to find an understanding of our place in […]
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David Pollock (1942-2023)
David Pollock was a towering figure in the humanist movement. A longtime member, activist, trustee, and former Chair, he was […]
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Antony Grey (1927-2010)
By Mia Nathan Constantly having to combat irrational and dangerous thinking is strenuous and sometimes tedious, but not necessarily boring. […]
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James Berry (1924-2017)
The difference and variety of our human family more and more seems to me to be a wise provision that […]
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Ritchie Calder (1906–1982)
Humanist ethics, as I understand them, are concerned with mankind. As humanists we believe in reason, but we also believe […]
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Anna Lo (1950–2024)
Anna was not a religious person. As a humanist, she believed in the goodness of people and their ability to […]
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From the archives: Charles Kennedy Scott 1876–1965
As well as being one of the most distinguished musicians of his time, he was, like Sir Hubert Parry before […]
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Edwin Morgan (1920-2010)
Because no one will believe without a splash from a fontTheir baby will howl in eternal cold, or fire,And no […]
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Humanist Parliamentary Group
When we stand up for freedom of conscience, for the rights of the individual, for the rational approach and against […]
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Bill Sefton (1915–2001)
To summarise why I have become a rationalist is a difficult task for one not educated in formal writing, but […]
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Lindsay Burnet (1905–1985)
It is essential to get it recognised that good and graceful living is sufficient in itself; further, that this is […]
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Kit Mouat (1920–1986)
Harriet Martineau described her escape to atheism like this: “I lingered long on the stages of speculation and taste, but […]
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Rodger Alder (1947–1997)
The obituary reproduced below was written by George Broadhead, and originally appeared in a 1997 issue of The Gay Humanist […]
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John Boyd Orr (1880–1971)
The big problem of today is how shall we adjust these tremendous new forces so that they can be harnessed […]
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Doris Lessing (1919–2013)
I lost religion in a breath; Heaven fled from me on the wings of Reason… Doris Lessing, Under My Skin: […]
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W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)
I remain an agnostic, and the practical outcome of agnosticism is that you act as though God did not exist. […]
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John Curry (1949–1994)
John Curry was an English figure skater celebrated for revolutionising the sport by combining athleticism with balletic artistry. Openly gay […]
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Terry Pratchett (1948–2015)
There is no hope but us. There is no mercy but us. There is no justice. There is just us… […]
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Derek Lennard (1952–2023)
Derek Lennard was a longtime member and former chair of LGBT Humanists—then known as the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Group […]
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From the archives: Being Rational About Being Gay
‘Being Rational About Being Gay’ was a talk given by activist Antony Grey (Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright) for the Gay […]
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Douglas Adams (1952–2001)
Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the […]
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George Broadhead (1933–2021)
George Broadhead was a humanist activist and gay rights campaigner, motivated by a twin commitment to humanism and human rights. […]
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V. M. Tarkunde (1909–2004)
The basic human value is freedom, which means the right of a human being to live a human life. V.M. […]
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Eslanda Goode Robeson (1895–1965)
I am willing and eager to surrender as much of my personal sovereignty as is necessary, in order to secure […]
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James Baldwin (1924-1987)
If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, […]
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From the archives: The Humanist Alternative
What primarily unites Humanists is not a set of propositions to be believed but moral values to be freely chosen… […]
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Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964)
Essentially, I am interested in this world, in this life, not in some other world or a future life. Whether […]
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Fabian Society
If any delegate present thinks that the Fabian Society was wise from the hour of its birth, let him forthwith […]
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Marjorie Abbatt (1899–1991)
They weren’t just trying to sell something to parents, they were helping them to understand how to play with and […]
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Michael Manley (1924–1997)
I like life with its mysteries. I don’t need my imponderables filled in for me. Michael Manley quoted by Rachel […]
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Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
A wide-ranging Humanism will always seek to extend to more and more people, through education and opportunity, the enrichment of […]
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John D. Stewart (1917-1988)
I think I was born a humanist. John D. Stewart, The Honest Ulsterman, May 1968 John D. Stewart was a […]
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Janet Chance (1886–1953)
If the church was wrong, as of old, to trust to prayer in an epidemic, why shall she be right […]
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George Peabody Gooch (1873–1968)
Conscience is older than any existing Church or creed. George Peabody Gooch, Under Six Reigns (1958) George Peabody Gooch was […]
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H. Montgomery Hyde (1907–89)
Harford Montgomery Hyde was a Belfast-born barrister, politician, author, and humanist, who championed humane legal reforms and progressive social attitudes. […]
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Storm Jameson (1891-1986)
I hold that a writer should not in any circumstances or for any cause surrender his duty to criticise and […]
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Nina Spiller (1878–1967)
Nina Spiller was a lifelong worker for women’s rights, who played an active role in the humanist movement for more […]
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Sally Greengross (1935–2022)
Universal rights are exactly that, universal, and one should not suddenly acquire different rights after a certain number of birthdays. […]
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C.K. Ogden (1889-1957)
If he had ever worshipped at any shrine, it would have been one illumined with the flame of pure intellect. […]
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Kader Asmal (1934–2011)
Can there be a more important human condition than dignity? Without it, we are bitter, downtrodden, unheard, humiliated, embarrassed and […]
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Prior’s Field School
Prior’s Field School was founded in 1902 by Julia Arnold Huxley. Born in 1862, Julia grew up in an intellectual […]
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First European performance of A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful, and that which […]
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Wales
Wales has long been a nation of nonconformists, with a history of challenging the power and influence of the established […]
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Alice Jenkins (1886-1967)
Every movement requires its handful of pioneers who are prepared to stand up and be counted — to be abused, […]
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From the archives: ‘Why the Humanist Movement Began’
This article was written for Humanist News by Harold Blackham, who is viewed today as the architect of the modern […]
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From the archives: Separate Development?
We’re part of society, part of the world whether we or society like it or not, and we have to […]
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Bill Bynner (1900-1984)
Bill Bynner was a humanist, socialist, and civil servant. As the editor of South Place Ethical Society‘s Ethical Record wrote […]
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Lady Rhondda (1883-1958)
There is nothing in this world to compare with the joy of finding something to do that one believes to […]
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Mary Sheepshanks (1872-1960)
Mary Sheepshanks was a humanist who saw her feminist, pacifist, and cosmopolitan beliefs as being natural expressions of her humanist […]
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John Boyd (1912-2002)
We can’t help the universe, but at least we can do something to help ourselves. Can’t we? John Boyd, Across […]
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Jack McDowell (1923-2006)
Belfast-born Jack McDowell was an activist, educator, politician, and atheist, whose humanism was evident in a lifetime of work for […]
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John Stewart Bell (1928-1990)
In the beginning natural philosophers tried to understand the world around them. Trying to do that they hit upon the […]
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Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960)
Against the militarist totalitarian state, I have striven. For the freedom of the human spirit to develop under the kindly […]
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Presidents of Humanists UK
Humanists UK began as the Union of Ethical Societies in 1896, becoming the Ethical Union in 1920, the British Humanist […]
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Humanist Ceremonies
People have always looked for ways to mark significant events in their lives, and though many ceremonies have often been […]
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Henry Noel Brailsford (1873–1958)
Our goal must be the good of the whole human society. Henry Noel Brailsford, Olives of Endless Age: being a […]
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From the archives: Wider Horizons
I suggest that the assembly we really want is an act of celebration, rather than worship. There is value in […]
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From the archives: The Great Human Detective Story
Humanism is a philosophy of life based on a concern for humanity rather than a belief in god. Humanists believe […]
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First Conference of Humanists in Ireland
This conference is resolved to strive for the achievement of peace, justice and tolerance in Ireland, and holds that outmoded […]
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Dorothy Thurtle (1890-1973)
No law can be effective which has not behind it the sanction of the people. Dorothy Thurtle, quoted by David […]
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Kingsley Martin (1897-1969)
I believe in the supreme virtue of exploring. I believe in finding out. Even if I don’t succeed, I still […]
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The first humanist public funeral
He was the people’s First Minister, and this is a people’s ceremony. He wouldn’t want heavy mourning. This is a […]
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William Beveridge (1879-1963)
The one thing in which I am interested wholly and completely is the getting to know something about human society […]
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National Health Service
When Nigel Lawson said in 1992 that the National Health Service was the ‘closest thing the English have to a […]
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Peace Pledge Union
We are living in critical days. It is not enough to desire peace or to talk peace. We must make […]
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Conscientious Objectors’ Commemorative Stone
To all those who have established and who are maintaining the right to refuse to kill. Their foresight and courage […]
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Bill Barbour (1920-2009)
William Pirrie Barbour was a classicist, codebreaker, teacher, and activist. A rationalist and humanist, Barbour championed integrated education in his […]
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Kathleen Nott (1905-1999)
Now art, certainly literary art, is ‘existential’ and has to be so. It is, if nothing else, about the real […]
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Brigid Brophy (1929-1995)
We are (of all the synonyms I most prefer to ‘humanist’) freethinkers. We are deprived of nothing. We have lost […]
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Peter Draper (1933-2016)
Humanists believe that this is our world, our responsibility, our possibility. If you agree, would anyone know? Peter Draper, ‘Values […]
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The Open University
The Open University was founded in 1969 with the ambition of providing access to higher education for people who had […]
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From the archives: ‘What’s This Humanism?’
The principles of humanism are positive and exacting commitments. People do not become Humanists merely on rejecting supernatural beliefs. But […]
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Barbara Smoker (1923-2020)
To say that “God moves in mysterious ways” is to put up a smokescreen of mystery behind which fantasy may […]
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Nicolas Walter (1934-2000)
Humanism involves not just the deletion of God from moral thought, but the development of humanity on a rational and […]
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Karl Popper (1902-1994)
… the responsibility for our ethical decisions is entirely ours and cannot be shifted to anybody else; neither to God, […]
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Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery is a nondenominational cemetery in Ireland, first opened in 1832. The brainchild of Catholic rights leader Daniel O’Connell, […]
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The Progressive League
The Progressive League was an organisation dedicated to the advancement of scientific humanism, founded by author H.G. Wells and philosopher […]
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Hector Hawton (1901-1975)
Humanism is less concerned with what to believe than with how to live. The meaning it gives to life lies […]
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Hermann Bondi (1919-2005)
It is in service to others, it is as members of the community, that our existence lies. Hermann Bondi, Humanism […]
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John Hewitt Cairn
My chosen ground Inscription on the John Hewitt Cairn John Harold Hewitt (1907-1987) was the most significant Ulster poet to […]
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Harry Stopes-Roe (1924-2014)
Harry Stopes-Roe was one of the most tireless and dedicated humanist campaigners of the 20th century. Son of the influential […]
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Antony Flew (1923-2010)
Antony Flew was a British philosopher and was, for much of his life, a renowned atheist and eloquent proponent of […]
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Northern Ireland
A brief history of humanism and secularism in Northern Ireland Organised humanism began in Northern Ireland in the 19th century, […]
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Red Lion Square
As well as being home to Conway Hall and its humanist library, Red Lion Square contains statues of two prominent […]
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Bessie Braddock (1899-1970)
We had to have change. The conditions of the workers had to be improved. The bosses had to be forced […]
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Humanist Lobby
Humanism is an attitude to life that has solidly practical implications… it implies a commitment to helping run the community […]
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UNESCO
Its main concern is with peace and security and with human welfare, in so far as they can be subserved […]
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Social Morality Council
Without this mutual trust and dependability amongst people who differ radically, there cannot be political and religious freedom. H.J. Blackham […]
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Towards an Open Society
I think that believing in the brotherhood of man is not just a matter of signing these letters, it is […]
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Humanist Broadcasting Council
The Humanist Broadcasting Council was established in 1959, in consultation with the BBC, to advocate for the inclusion of humanist […]
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Dora Russell (1894-1986)
I see this kind of love – the empathy that should be common to all living creatures – rather than […]
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M.N. Roy (1887-1954)
The realisation of the possibility of a secular rational morality opens up a new perspective before the modern world… It […]
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W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
If living does not give value, wisdom and meaning to life, then there is no sense in living at all. […]
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Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose […]
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Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960)
He was a great humanist whose religion lay in loving his fellow men and trying to serve them. These are […]
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National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery primarily located in London but with various satellite outstations located elsewhere in […]
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Humanist Housing Association
The Humanist Housing Association began in January 1955, founded as the Ethical Union Housing Association to provide affordable homes for […]
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Humanist Manifesto II (1973)
While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No […]
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James Hemming (1909-2007)
The time has arrived for us humans to stop leaning on ideas for a creator god; we should get down […]
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Gora (1902-1975)
Godlessness is negative. It merely denies the existence of god. Atheism is positive. It asserts the condition that results from […]
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Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College at the University of Cambridge has educated and employed a host of remarkable humanists and freethinkers, many of […]
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Bishopsgate Institute
Bishopsgate Institute was built ‘for the benefit of the public’ in 1894, intended to provide opportunities for education and recreation […]
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University College London
University College London was founded in 1826 as the University of London; the city’s first university, and a consciously secular […]
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Conway Hall
Conway Hall has effected a transformation. From the day of its opening the life of the Society has been full […]
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Leicester Secular Hall
I might fill columns with tales of the debaters, co-operators, socialists, individualists, critics, artists, scientists, clergy and cranks, who, as […]
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National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a campaigning organisation, founded in 1866 to champion the principles of secularism and the separation […]
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Humanists International
Humanists International was formed in 1952 as the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU): a federation of the American Ethical […]
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British Pregnancy Advisory Service
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) began as the Birmingham Pregnancy Advisory Service, created to provide access to safe, legal, […]
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Agnostics Adoption Society
From the outset IAS aimed to have an open approach to prospective adopters irrespective of their race, religion and creed, […]
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Abortion Law Reform Association
The… women on the early ALRA committee were similar in background and outlook. Most of them were active members of […]
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LGBT Humanists
Formed in the wake of the Gay News blasphemy trial, GALHA (now LGBT Humanists) came into being in 1979 as […]
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The Ethical Church
The old teaching was that we must worship not truth, beauty and goodness, but their source, and that their source […]
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Claire Rayner (1931-2010)
The writer, TV and radio personality and social campaigner, Claire Rayner, best known for her agony aunt columns, spent most […]
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Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living. Harold Pinter Harold Pinter was one of the 20th century’s most […]
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George Melly (1926-2007)
I don’t understand people panicking about death. It’s inevitable. I’m an atheist; you’d think it would make it worse, but […]
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Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)
I agree that faith is essential to success in life (success of any sort) but I do not accept your […]
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Ludovic Kennedy (1919-2009)
Ludovic Kennedy was a writer, journalist, and broadcaster, known for his investigations into miscarriages of justice. A human rights campaigner, he […]
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Leo Abse (1917-2008)
It was the start of opening up society to be more caring and sensitive. One was battling for all men […]
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Francis Crick (1916-2004)
Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, the biological molecule of hereditary information, and cracked the genetic code by which […]
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A.J. Ayer (1910-1989)
In common with other humanists, I believe that the only possible basis for a sound morality is mutual tolerance and […]
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Owen Sheehy-Skeffington (1909-1970)
I am a humanist, a rationalist. My mother said to me, some weeks before she died, that she would die ‘an unrepentant […]
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Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974)
The notion that a man shall judge for himself what he is told, sifting the evidence and weighing the conclusions, […]
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John Hewitt (1907-1987)
I fear their creed as we have always fearedthe lifted hand against unfettered thought. John Hewitt, ‘The Glens’ in Collected […]
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Jennie Lee (1904-1988)
Jennie Lee (also known as Baroness Lee of Asheridge) was a Scottish politician and journalist, known for her upfront orating […]
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Margaret Knight (1903-1983)
With these basic [humanist] beliefs there go commonly two corollaries. First, that virtue is a matter of promoting human well-being, […]
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Harold John Blackham (1903-2009)
Faith without works is not Christianity, and unbelief without any effort to help shoulder the consequences for mankind is not […]
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Sylvia Scaffardi (1902-2001)
The actress turned campaigner and human rights activist Sylvia Scaffardi was a co-founder of The Council of Civil Liberties, along […]
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Rose Bush (1898-1978)
Rose Bush was a member of the South Place Ethical Society for over 50 years, and a driving force in […]
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Barbara Wootton (1897-1988)
It is in fact a strength, not a weakness, of a secular morality that it must stand upon its own […]
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Fenner Brockway (1888-1988)
I had long put on one side the purist pacifist view that one should have nothing to do with a […]
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Julian Huxley (1887-1975)
What the sciences discover about the natural world and about the origins, nature and destiny of man is the truth […]
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E. M. Forster (1879-1970)
Humanism could (better) be honoured by reciting a list of the things one has enjoyed or found interesting, of the […]
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Teresa Billington-Greig (1876-1964)
I am a feminist, a rebel, and a suffragist – a believer, therefore, in sex-equality and militant action. I desire […]
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Charles Kennedy Scott (1876-1965)
… in broad terms, with our lecturers we attempt to define our intellectual standpoint; with our music we try to […]
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G. E. Moore (1873-1958)
The tremendous influence of Moore and his book on us came from the fact that they suddenly removed from our […]
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Bessie Mabbs (1873-1953)
Bessie Mabbs was a teacher, school principal, and active member of the Union of Ethical Societies (now Humanists UK), chairing […]
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Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Neither love without knowledge, nor knowledge without love […]
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Gilbert Murray (1866-1957)
But in the more civilised communities, as in ancient Greece, there has always been a minority who, through some speculative […]
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Laurence Housman (1865-1959)
But however little it conforms or tenders allegiance, no life worth having can be isolated from the lives of others. […]
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Frederick James Gould (1855-1938)
F.J. Gould was an influential educationist, writer, and humanist, whose tireless work towards secularising education helped to lay the groundwork […]
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The Ethical Movement
Not by the Creed but by the Deed. Motto of the Society for Ethical Culture of New York, founded in […]
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South Place Ethical Society
Under its successive names, adopted or given… is traceable a constant endeavour to study carefully, and keep abreast of, the […]
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Rationalist Press Association
The Rationalist Press Association (later known as simply the Rationalist Association) had its origins in the London print works of […]